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2025-03-31-accounts

COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1883734

HACKNEY CITY FARM LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31 MARCH 2025

Charity Number 291211

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

CONTENTS PAGE
Members of the Board and professional advisers 1
Trustees Annual Report 5
Independent examiner's report to the members 21
Statement of financial activities (incorporating the
income and expenditure account) 23
Balance sheet 24
Notes to the financial statements 25

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS

Registered charity name Hackney City Farm Limited Hackney City Farm Limited
Charity number 291211
Company registration number 1883734
Principal office Hackney City Farm
1A Goldsmiths Row
London
E2 8QA
Trustees David Brook
Sergio Almasy
Sarah Leach Resigned 28 May 2025
Jan Fuscoe
Catrin Lewis
Roisin O’Cearnaigh Appointed 28 May 2025
Susannah Perry Appointed 28 May 2025
Secretary Sergio Almasy
Farm Director Chris Pounds
Independent examiner Stephen Welch FCA
Long Acre, Howe Lane
Great Sampford
Essex, CB10 2NY
Bankers National Westminster
403 Bethnal Green Road
London
E2 0AF

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 March 2025.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Reference and administrative details are shown in the schedule of members of the board and professional advisers on page 1 of the financial statements.

THE TRUSTEES

The trustees who served the company during the period were as follows: David Brook Jan Fuscoe Sergio Almasy Catrin Lewis Sarah Leach

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND

MANAGEMENT

Hackney City Farm Ltd (the Farm) is a Registered Charity and Limited Company. It is governed by the Articles of Association (Companies Act 1948) agreed in 1984 and Trustees were appointed and elected in accordance with the memorandum at the Annual General Meeting 13th December 2008.

ORGANISATION, MANAGEMENT AND

DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURE

The management of Hackney City Farm is vested in Trustees, meeting as the Management Committee and responsible for the administration of the Farm's affairs and the general policy of the Farm in accordance with clause 43 of the Memorandum of Articles. There are 5 Trustees serving during the 2024/25 term. The day to day management of the Farm is carried out by a paid Farm Director.

POLICY STATEMENTS

Reserves

The reserves are the resources from the Farm's unrestricted income to spend at the Trustee's direction in the furtherance of the Farm's objects once it has met its commitments and covered its planned expenditure. The Trustees direct that sums are to be held as reserves when it is their considered view that it is in the Charity's best interest to do so. The review is made annually, normally at budget approval and at other times

as the Trustees consider prudent. Currently the Farm maintains a 3 month operating cost reserve with any remainder designated to Farm development projects.

Investments

The Trustees have reviewed the deposition of the Farm's reserves funds and approve a policy of placing reserved funds with deposit taking institutions where appropriate. No more than the maximum covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is to be placed with any one deposit taker.

Risk Analysis

The Farm has developed a Risk Management System and associated working policies. This has been in conjunction with the PQASSO Quality Standards Scheme.

Public Benefit

The objects of the Farm are for public benefit, specifically around food farming and the wider environment. The City Farm serves to create and maintain a lifelong learning environment where local people can gain knowledge, green skills, confidence and learning opportunities through Farm activities and the education & training programmes. In planning and reviewing the Farm Business Plan and the activities taking place, the Trustees are mindful of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

CORE ACTIVITIES

The projects are inspired by volunteers, partners, and visitors to the Farm, and this collaborate to create activities together.

Work outdoors in mixed ability groups, decisions are made by consensus. Activities are focused on three main areas:

Community - Through volunteering strong relationships are nurtured in and across communities, building personal resilience and improving wellbeing

Farming and the Environment - Inspiring green spaces have been created around the Farm to promote urban ecology and for visitors and volunteers to learn about farming and environmental issues.

Young People – Dedicated activities support young people to learn and grow, with a particular focus on supporting those with special educational needs and disabilities.

OBJECTIVES

To promote for the public benefit of the inhabitants of Hackney, neighbouring boroughs and surrounding areas the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic deprivation or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of those people.

To advance the education people living in Hackney, neighbouring boroughs and the surrounding area in subjects relating to sustainable development, local food production and the protection, enhancement and rehabilitation of the environment.

To advance the education of the public in the subjects of sustainable food production, farming and the production of food through the exhibition of animals in common agricultural and domestic use.

To develop the capacity and skills of socially and economically disadvantaged inhabitants of Hackney, neighbouring boroughs and surrounding areas in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society.

To provide opportunities for social interaction and support and to provide education and training opportunities that are accessible to residents of Hackney and neighbouring boroughs.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

CO-OPERATING WITH OTHER CHARITIES AND RELATED PARTIES

There are no relationships between Farm and related parties that fall within the requirements for disclosure under Charity SORP 2005.

The Farm works in partnership with a number of organisations on various projects:

Haggerston Park User Group Social Farms and Gardens Get Loose Denizen Works Fonic Hackney Fine Arts Gary March Design Gaia Therapy London Greenwood Hackney Bike Workshop

Soleshare Hackney Herbal Living Windows Hackney Food Network Felix Project The Feel Good Community Growing Communities St Marys Secret Garden Haggerston Food Growers

The Farm is a member of / works closely with:

Farms for Schools Hackney Community Transport London Orchard Project Inspire London Association of City Farms and Community Gardens

Our Funders

In addition to the generosity of individual supporters, we received funds from:

London Borough of Hackney Heritage Lottery Fund Avison Young Worshipful Co. Woolmen The Stonewall Park Charitable Trust London Association of City Farms and Community Gardens Necessity. SHED.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Forword

2025 has been a significant year for the Farm, we have worked hard to increase financial resilience in light of the charity sector funding crisis and although this has delayed our anticipated capital programme we have instead used established resources to provide a lifeline to a sister organization St Marys Secret Garden with an 18-month interim management agreement. Whilst this will incur some short-term costs it will inevitably strengthen both organizations and create further resilience at an uncertain time for community organisations.

We look forward to a further successful 12 months ahead of us.

Chris Pounds

Farm Manager.

Management

The Farm has continued to be managed by Chris Pounds with assistance from Charlie-Jane Banks - Farmyard Manager, these are the main full-time roles and are aided by a team of dedicated sessional staff in the day-to-day running of the Farm and its activities.

These include Michelle Frank, Jadzia Biegun, Robyn Lamminman, Magda Juszczak, Sunni Sunderland Matilda Edmundson and Ellie Ryder.

Jadzia and Magda additionally manage the corporate volunteer days, and Robyn runs garden volunteering and education groups/green activities.

Rosana Bailey oversees the food bank operation; it’s fundraising and monitoring as well as providing additional admin and finance assistance. Our long-term bookeeper Stefania Valente manages payroll and staff payments.

Younger people; Grae, Poppy, Shanti and Ayas also assist at weekends and with the mini and maxi farmer groups.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Last year we developed a 3-year Farm Business Plan 2024 to 2027.

The key areas of work identified were;

Progression of the capital development programme

During this first year a comprehensive consultation was carried out on the proposed capital build and in August 2024 an application was made with the Reaching Communities Lottery Programme. This was for £300, 000 to cover 2/3 of the cost of the development programme. Unfortunately due to the current financial climate this was unsuccessful, and we were advised to reapply in at least 12 months’ time.

Bearing this in mind we have decided to delay on the capital programme and concentrate on essential capital improvements in the short term. These have been carried out to site to improve the facilities mainly by Neil Rose, a skilled craftsman, who has completed substantial modernisation. The Farmyard enclosures and the pig housing have all been renewed and areas at the front of the Farm next to the cafe have been repaired. Work is also ongoing in the basement creating new storage areas for commercial use to develop further revenue streams.

The farmyard team has also worked hard at replacing all the field fencing and gates over the last 12 months saving considerable costs. Additional equipment purchased to do this included an air fencing stapler and a digger auger. We are also pleased to also have new livestock trailer for transporting pigs.

Management of a succession strategy.

Senior management succession review and evaluation have begun and financial processes have been simplified through the Xero accountancy programme. Staff have also undergone training to upskill in preparation. Further work will continue in year two, auditing in-house skills for future progression activities.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Creation of new seasonal activities.

The farmyard in year one has developed various educational activities and learning opportunities for people to take part in these have included information boards and updates as well as drawing classes. More work will continue in year's two and three particularly in signposting to other resources available.

2024-2025 Highlights

Animals

This year has been a very busy time on the farmyard with many new arrivals; lambing brought six lambs from the Kerry Hill and crossbreed ewes, four litters of piglets from the sows, (totalling 54 piglets), 6 goat kids born from the pure-bred Anglo Nubians goats and for the first time three peacocks have been hatched and are now in the main yard. There have been over 200 school visits with a total of 4, 000 pupils and nearly 500 maxi farmer attendees over 45 weeks.

There have been 11 regular weekly farmyard volunteers in addition to the 8 work experience students. The goat breeding programme has gone every well and CJ; the Farmyard Manager was asked to write an article for the British goat society which can be seen in Appendix Four. Vets from Hammond Veterinary Practice also spent time with young people

demonstrating pregnancy scanning on sheep and goats and an offsite lambing weekend for several older yard volunteers included a visit to a dairy farm with robotic milkers.

London Association

Work has continued with the London Association of City Farms and Community Gardens. Staff from the Farm were involved in the fundraising event with the Worshipful Company of Farmers, a training workshop on corporate volunteering and delivering the 2024 City Farms and Community Gardens Harvest Festival held at Lambourne End. Sharing resources and experience with this organisation and other similar projects strengthens the sector and HCF’s and position in it

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

St Mary's Secret Garden.

An unexpected development late in the year was the takeover of St Mary’s Garden, a community resource close to the Farm and which HCF has had a close association over many years. St Mary's went into receivership in December 24 and through negotiation with the London Borough of Hackney (the property owner) the Farm took over management in the late spring of 2025.

This is an 18-month agreement, and the Farm will utilise its connections and experience to provide some stability and sustainable income streams to the project. The partnership will also strengthen both organisations and help reduce overheads and costs.

Volunteering

Volunteering is an essential part of the Farm and although we no longer have a full-time volunteer co-ordinator we continue to provide volunteer opportunities.

The gardens are expertly looked after by our established garden volunteer group as well as the Gaia Therapy Gardening Group.

Additionally we greatly appreciate the help from corporate volunteer teams. This is an area which has really been expanding. In the last 12 months we have had 106 volunteer teams working on site totalling

2500 volunteers and an amazing 15000 hours of work. We have also worked with volunteers from the Good Gym on regular fortnightly sessions.

Pottery

The Farm runs a busy pottery workshop led by Rob Jones and Sonia Stobik; over the last 12 months there have been over 120 adult classes attended by over 1500 people as well as 80 classes for younger children with over 600 visitors. We also take the pottery classes off site and have run a weekly session for elderly people at the nearby Sundial Centre. We host mosaic sessions (194 participants) a Trans-femme social group each month with over 30 people as well as several RSPB campaign stalls over the year.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Forty Years Film Project

In August 2024 the Farm was awarded a grant of £13,400 to produce a film celebrating the Farm’s fortieth anniversary. Founded in 1984 by a group of local people the project has come a long way over the last 40 years. The key behind its success have been the people involved in it. In equal measure; those employed, volunteering, supporting and participating in its numerous and varied activities have all shaped and influenced it and are part of its genuine success. It is very gratifying to travel to other parts of England (and sometimes abroad) and meet people who know about the Farm and have enjoyed its unique resources in some way or other.

The idea to create a film celebrating 40 years could only be done with one focus; people. So, in a Farm typical way and an unconventional method of film production a call was put out to involve a group of volunteers interested in co-operatively producing a film. No previous experience was necessary, and a group of a dozen people came together to make ‘On our Street – celebrating 40 years of the Farm’. It was facilitated by Caroline Baker a freelance project manager who helped the volunteers develop ideas,

research, interview, publicise and deliver a 15-minute film that gave an insight and peoples involvement of the project over the last 40 years.

A number of participants in fact had industry experience in film production although found the novel way of collectively producing it very satisfying. The quality of the eventual product was exceptional and fully captured the spirit and ethos of the farm.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The film was shown at a special gathering held in late March and we were overwhelmed by the numbers of people that came along and celebrated the evening at the Farm, it was an incredible reflection of the communities feeling towards the project. The film has been entered into various film festivals through the summer and will later be placed on the Farm’s website for public viewing. There has also been some interest subsequently in using the process across similar projects as a way of documenting and recording this important community interaction by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Other events

These included; animal drawing classes, a pumpkin picking, grow your own window box salad workshop, volunteer run bake sale, art exhibition, swing dance events and bike repair classes. In addition to weddings and other formal events, the straw bale room was also used for over 90 children's parties. The Farm additionally was set as the location for a new Netflix production ‘Too Much’ directed by Lena Dunham due for release Summer 2025.

Hub activities

The Farm is a hub to other activities & groups and monitoring and feedback of these is detailed below;

Get Loose

The aims of Get Loose are to bring the people of Hackney fairly priced, high quality, tasty, ethical food, made by small producers where possible. The products for sale in the shop include; cereals, chutneys & spreads, cleaning products, confectionary, dairy, drinks, herbs and spices, honeys and syrups, flour and baking, meatless meats, nuts, fruits and seeds, oils, vinegars, soy, and pasta. It is staffed by a mixture of volunteers and paid staff and tries to work as a community campaign group promoting waste reduction and recycling initiatives.

Key successes this year included;

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Gaia Therapy Collective 2024/25

Gaia Therapy Collective seeks to reach people who have been excluded from mainstream services often due to having a marginalised identity. 100% of clients accessing this service are experiencing financial difficulty, are either unemployed and/or are receiving benefits. Most of the service users (75%) identify as coming from a global majority with just over 40% identifying as LBTQIA+.

As a collective Gaia endeavors to represent the communities that it works with; some

of the therapists are involved with other therapy organisations such as the Feminist Therapy Network, Therapists against Conversion Therapy and Transphobia and the Black and Asian Therapy network.

Over the past year 2024-25, Gaia Therapy Collective has provided over 100 hours of free/reduced-fee therapy through its therapy service for the local community. Since Gaia Therapy Collective formed in late 2021 it has offered over 1100 hours of free/low therapy hours to the local community.

Gaia Therapy Collective became a CIC in July 2023, and its focus has been on becoming more sustainable for the future. There are currently four members of the team, all of which are clinically trained. The group is currently recruiting a new group and individual therapists. In December 2024 it transitioned to managing all its finances independently of the Farm.

Gaia's dedication to creating an inclusive therapy service has been helped by being situated on Hackney City Farm, with many of the clients benefiting from the vibrant community. Many have expressed their appreciation for spending time in the garden and farm before or after

sessions. The connection to nature and farm life has enabled many clients to feel more connected to the natural world.

“ I can't begin to explain the magnitude of how much Eco-Therapy has helped me over the past year. Connecting with nature has brought me a deep sense of peace, learning about different teas has been reconnecting me with my body, drawing nature has been reconnecting me to my childlike self, and learning to deeply connect as a racialized group, facilitated extremely well by Chand, has brought about a collective healing.” C

“For the last two years of my life, eco-therapy has been a huge anchor for me. I couldn't imagine moving through as much as I have without the support of Chand, Rasheeqa and my eco-therapy kin”.

Ecotherapy Group

One of the therapist’s facilitates a very successful eco-therapy gardening group aimed at global majority members. The purpose of the group is to help re-connect members to the natural world and help participants work through collective and personal trauma using plants and nature. The sessions are cofacilitated by an external herbalist and have kindly been funded by Necessity in recent years.

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

“I am currently supported by universal credit and have had previous therapy at a discounted rate, but the fact I do not have to worry about how I can pay for this (honestly groundbreaking) therapy is something that overwhelms me to tears, I am so grateful to be a part of this. It is so reassuring to have stable therapy to keep me grounded through emotionally and mentally challenging times.”

Hackney Food Hub

Rosanna and Sunni have continued to manage and develop this important initiative. Food from the project feeds over 400 people each week. As the supply of food from the Felix project has declined funding from LBH as enabled us to fill this gap. Most weeks up to 70% of the food distributed was sourced with the Hackney Residents Support Fund. This has also helped us regulate the continuity of food products; both in size, avoiding catering packs and types of food. Donations from the project goes on to four satellite groups the details are below;

Connecting all Communities

Serves about one hundred people weekly. About 50% of their service uses are households with children under 19, 15% are Households with disabled persons, 15% Households with pensioners aged 65+ and 20% other vulnerable households.

Ida Community

Serves about 305 people weekly. About 20% of their service uses are households with children under 19, 20% are Households with disabled persons, 20% Households with pensioners and 40% are other vulnerable people.

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Hackney Community Food Share Serves about one hundred people weekly. About 25% of their service uses are households with children under 19, 50% are Households with disabled persons, 25 % Households with pensioners aged 65+ and they did not record the vulnerable households.

E5 Food Pantry Serves about 375 people weekly. About 40% of their service uses are households with children under 19, 14% are Households with disabled persons, 30% Households with pensioners aged 65+ and 16% other vulnerable households.

The fridge and freezer from the King Charles project, has been an excellent addition to the hub and is used continuously. We often receive more food than the fridge / freezer capacity. Continued communication with the groups collecting enabled us to arrange collection outside of our schedule times to enable this food to be collected on the day it is received. We intend to continue exploring ways to work with community partners beyond delivery and collection of food to build longer term resilience for families and communities experiencing hardship.

We are still exploring feasibility around growing local herbs and vegetables to supply the food hub. We intend to continue exploring ways to work with community partners beyond delivery and collection of food to build longer term resilience for families and communities experiencing hardship.

London Green Wood

London Green Wood is a not-for-profit cooperative and a community of green woodworkers whose aim is to encourage crafty-ness, creativity and self-reliance in everybody. From their outdoor woodland workshop, using locally felled wood, they bring heritage crafts to the heart of the city and make basic woodcraft skills available to all. They use hand tools and green wood straight from the log.

By creating a space for people to work creatively alongside others, they foster friendships and community connections. By teaching people new skills, they create resilience. By working outdoors in nature, they provide a space for reflection and therapeutic activity.

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

LGW aims

“A really fantastic course, with passionate tutors that are generous with their knowledge and very gentle. The location is perfect and an insight to a lovely community. The course structure is perfect, ending in a gentle spoon carving after a more physical day of learning how to use the lathe. Tips and tricks make you feel quickly confident using sharp tools and get into a meditative state surrounded by likeminded and supportive people! Thank you - I can’t wait to return!”

“This was an excellently paced and facilitated course. I absolutely loved It. It had just the right balance of hands-on help and being left to explore wood turning on the pole lathe. The setting of Hackney city farm gave it an extra special dimension!. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and would recommend it. Thank you for such a great day.”

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Hackney Fine Arts

Hackney Fine Arts continues with its commitment to helping improve community cohesion and wellbeing through providing high quality fine art education, specialising on individualised learning to ensure we meet a variety of individual educational needs and abilities. We have a strong ethos towards

inclusion and diversity. We currently deliver 32 weekly term time classes: 14 for kids aged 7 - 16 and 18 for adults aged 18 and over. We also run holiday classes for children on all school holidays and a specialist Masterclass programme for adults during academic holidays.

“Unique art class where children produce a painting over many sessions. Great tuition and sense of achievement” Phil Buckley

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

We currently have 475 regular weekly students and estimate we educate an average of 1500 people a year including all our yearly courses. We employ 28 members of staff, this includes Managers, Teachers, SEND specialist TA's, a cleaner and an admin assistant. %70 of our team is LGTBQ and %20 is neurodiverse. In our kids and teens classes, we have 27 regular students with SEND needs and many with mild

educational needs and disabilities in our adult classes, which we do not monitor as most adults prefer not to disclose this.

We have 51 weekly regular students on concessionary discounted rate to facilitate access to low income, disabled, pregnant and NHS worker students plus two annual tuition free bursaries for children of lowincome families. Our student and employee base represents the wide and rich variety of cultures, ethnicities and religious beliefs present in the local and adjacent boroughs.

Other Projects

Hackney City Farm supports Haggerston Orchard Project, is a satellite to Growing Communities organic veg box scheme, hosts Sole Share sustainable fish project, Living Windows Garden Company, Gary March Sculptures and various other organisations and activities.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Feedback

Google analytics.

Below is a breakdown of the data for the Farm’s website for the last 12 months. There were more than 31,000 with 81,000 page views. 24,000 were from the UK and the remainder were mainly from US and Europe. The average time on the website was 52s, equivalent to 22 days.

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Google Reviews

Increased from 24-25 by over 200 with consistent rating of 4.5

Instagram

We have 10.400 followers to Intagram and nearly 600 posts on our account. On average we get three new followers a day. Approximately 30% of visits are made in response to new baby animal posts. We have hundreds of local business supporters who share our stories.

Charity Number 291211

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Visitor Numbers

An Immotion People sensor is used at the front door to monitor the numbers of visitors using the main building. These equate to approximately ¼ of the total visitors as often people come in and out through the main yard and front garden. The graph below illustrates visitors over the first two quarters of the year and a calculation shows an estimate for total visitors for the year

Apr-24
3,728
May-24
7,316
Jun-24
4,495
Jul-24
8,482
Aug-24
8,005
Sep-24
7,924
Oct-24
8,962
April to Oct average
6,987
Oct to March prediction
34,937
Year total
83,849
Assume 1/4 of visitors
83,849
Totalpredicted
251,547

----- Start of picture text -----
-
Visitors April October 24
Unadjusted
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24
----- End of picture text -----

Looking ahead

In the last business plan we achieved our aim of diversifying income away from grants and building organisational capacity.

We delivered on objectives for income generation by increasing individual donations and diversifying social enterprise revenue. The latter has been specifically directed at establishing the Farm as a hub organisation, nurturing and supporting similarly focused projects to develop on our site. In terms of organisational capacity, we now have digital financial control systems

and online booking mechanisms that enable us to make our resources go further. During the previous 12 months we have built upon this legacy and continue to make further steps in creating a sustainable future.

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

We anticipated the changes we would deliver were to bring more people from diverse backgrounds together more often , create outdoor educational spaces rich in biodiversity and increase efficient allocation of charity resources . Through the ongoing development as a hub organisation we have already seen good evidence of this through the diverse outputs delivered on site by Hackney Fine Arts, London Greenwood and Gaia Therapy.

For the people taking part, these activities have been shown to promote social inclusion , combat loneliness, encourage independence and develop personal resilience. In short, our activities enable people to live their best lives .

We continue to be a working farm in the heart of London, providing free access, where people can learn and grow regardless of their circumstances, helping to narrow the gap in outcomes between certain disadvantaged groups and the wider community. A successful and significant development because of the pandemic was the Food hub initiated in a

partnership with Hackney Council. It continues to be an essential project on the Farm providing food for 400 families weekly. This hub, now wholly managed by the Farm has continued to secure funding support.

In the last 12 months the Farm has also taken over the management of a local sister project; St Marys Secret Garden. Using the Farms resources and wealth of experience we have been able to provide an effective management plan that will

enhance and develop the work there. It will also provide a significant site for the Farm to expand and develop opportunities to the community.

In these continued unsettled times, the Farm is fortunate to provide help and support to its local community and conversely greatly appreciates the significant support it receives. Through the efforts of its staff and volunteers it continues to be flourishing community flagship and looks forward to furthering enterprise and success in the coming year.

Chris Pounds

Farm Director April 2025

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

6. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Stephen Welch FCA has been re-appointed as independent examiner for the ensuing year.

Registered office: 1a Goldsmiths Row London E2 8QA 19[th] November 2025

Signed by order of the trustees Sergio Almasy Company Secretary

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF HACKNEY CITY FARM LIMITED

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

I report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2025 which are set out on pages 16 to 24.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The trustees (who are also the directors of Hackney City Farm Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the company is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the company and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

have not been met; or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Stephen Welch FCA

Independent examiner 25[th] November 2025

Long Acre, Howe Lane Great Sampford Essex, CB10 2NY

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Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2025 2024
Note £ £ £ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies 2 91,516 76,420 167,936 151,929
Other trading activities 3 337,038 – 337,038 305,830
Investment income 4 1,546 – 1,546 1,866
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
TOTAL INCOME 430,100 76,420 506,520 459,625
--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on:
Raising donations and
legacies 5 (391,498) – (391,498) (340,111)
Charitable activities 6 – (98,216) (98,216) (125,064)
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
TOTAL EXPENDITURE (391,498) (98,216) (489,714) (465,175)
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
NET (EXPENDITURE)
/INCOME 38,602 (21,796) 16,806 (5,550)
TRANSFER BETWEEN
FUNDS 10 (17,100) 17,100 – –
NET INCOME 21,502 (4,696) 16,806 (5.550)
Total funds brought forward 303,478 9.407 312,885 318,435
--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD 324,980 4,711 329,691 312,885
++=============================== =========================== =============================== ================================

The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year.

The notes on pages 18 to 24 form part of these financial statements.

Charity Number 291211

23

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

BALANCE SHEET

31 MARCH 2025

2025 2024
Note £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 12 26,424 27,330
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 13 16,039 5,501
Cash at bank and in hand 302,942 306,439
-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
318,981 311,940
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year 14 (15,714) (26,385)
---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
NET CURRENT ASSETS 303,267 285,555
------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 329,691 312,885
-------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
NET ASSETS 329,691 312,885
=============================== =================================
FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Restricted income funds 15 4,711 9,407
Unrestricted income funds 16 324,980 303,478
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS 329,691 312,885
================================ ================================

For the year ended 31 March 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Trustees' responsibilities:

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.

These financial statements were approved by the members of the committee and authorised for issue on the 19[th] November 2025 and are signed on their behalf by:

.......................... David Brook

.......................… Sergio Almasy

The notes on pages 18 to 24 form part of these financial statements.

Charity Number 291211

24

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of accounting

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014.

Going Concern

It is the opinion of the Directors of the company that it is appropriate to prepare these accounts on the Going Concern basis

Incoming resources

Voluntary income is included in the statement of financial activities (sofa) when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable certainty.

Grant income is included when the related conditions to the grant have been met.

Donations are credited to the revenue account when received.

All other income is accounted for on a receivable basis

Fund accounting

Unrestricted general funds

The charity maintains a general unrestricted fund, which represents funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held to finance both working capital and capital investment.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds have been provided to the charity for particular purposes and it is the policy of the board of trustees to carefully monitor the application of those funds in accordance with the restrictions placed upon them.

Resources expended

All resources are accounted for on an accruals basis.

Costs of generating funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary and grant related income.

Expenditure on charitable activities include the direct costs of the activities including those costs previously shown as Governance costs.

Fixed assets

All fixed assets are initially recorded at cost.

Charity Number 291211

25

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2025
Donations £ £ £
Donation at farm 91,516 – 91,516
Grants receivable
Food Bank – 43,420 57,755
LBH Specialist Grant – 33,000 33,000
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
91,516 76,420 167,936
=============================== ========================== ===============================
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2024
£ £ £
Donations
Donation at farm 50,674 – 50,674
Grants receivable
GAIA – 10,500 10,500
Food Bank – 57,755 57,755
LBH Specialist Grant – 33,000 33,000
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
50,674 101,255 151,925
=============================== ========================== ===============================
3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted Total Funds Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds 2025 Funds 2024
£ £ £ £
Sale of produce / other 18,070 18,070 17,434 17,434
Cafe 25,632 25,632 35,074 35,074
Room Hire 13,310 13,310 14,525 14,525
Licence fees from Workshops 92,688 92,688 97,047 97,047
Corporate Volunteering 77,509 77,509 75,558 75,558
Pottery 57,540 57,540 57,140 57,140
Other activities for generating funds 52,289 52,289 9,052 9,052
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
337,038 337,038 305,830 305,830
=============================== =============================== ============================== ==============================

Charity Number 291211

26

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

4. INVESTMENT INCOME

Unrestricted Total Funds Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds 2025 Funds 2024
£ £ £ £
Bank interest receivable 1,546 1,546 1,866 1,866
===================== ===================== ===================== =====================
5. COSTS OF RAISING DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Unrestricted Total Funds Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds 2025 Funds 2024
£ £ £ £
Costs of generating income 391,498 391,498 336,505 336,505
================================ =============================== =============================== ===============================
6. COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES BY FUND TYPE
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2025
£ £ £
LBH Specialist Grant – 33,000 33,000
GAIA – 13,627 13,627
Food Bank – 51,589 51,589
--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
– 98,216 98,216
=============================== ========================== ===============================
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2024
£ £ £
LBH Specialist Grant – 33,000 33,000
GAIA – 20,613 20,613
Food Bank – 71,451 71,451
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
– 125,064 125,064
=============================== =============================== ==============================

Charity Number 291211

27

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

7. NET (OUTGOING)/INCOMING RESOURCES FOR THE YEAR

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
2025 2024
£ £
Depreciation 5,952 3,606
===================== ====================

8. FUND TRANSFERS

A net transfer of unrestricted core funds to restricted funds of £17,100 (2024 - £nil) has been made, in order that restricted reserves, carried forward, are in accordance with the individual project reserves which were held at 31st. March 2025.

9. RESTRICTED FUNDS

Income and expenditure related to specific projects is shown as restricted funds. These cover the projects as set out in note 6 above.

10. STAFF COSTS AND EMOLUMENTS

Total Gross staff costs, excluding Furlough receipts, were as follows:

2025 2024
£ £
Wages and salaries 135,850 156,689
Social security costs 6,633 6,792
Other Pension costs 2,310 2,260
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
141,793 165,741
================================= =================================

Particulars of employees:

The average number of employees during the year, was as follows:

Particulars of employees:
The average number of employees during the		 year, was as follows:
2025 2024
No. No.
Number of staff 7 6
========= =========

No employee received remuneration of more than £60,000 during the year (2024 - Nil).

11. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION

No Trustee received either remuneration or reimbursement of expenditure during the year.

Charity Number 291211

28

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

12. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Equipment Motor Total
Vehicles
£ £ £
COST
At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 38,562 16,560 55,122
Additions 1,127 5,195 6,322
_____ ______ ______
At 31 March 2025 39,689 21,755 61,444
========================= ================================ ===============================
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2024 21,149 7,918 29,067
Charge for the year 2,434 3,519 5,953
------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
At 31 March 2025 23,583 11,437 35,020
========================== =============================== ================================
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2025 16,106 10,318 26,424
=========================== ========================== ==========================
At 31 March 2024 18,688 8,642 27,330
=========================== ========================== ==========================

Leasehold property of £266,706 was written down to £0 over 10 years ago and it is therefore not considered of any value at this stage to continue to show this in the above schedule

13. DEBTORS

2025 2024
£ £
Trade debtors 16,039 5,481
Other debtors – 20
------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
16,039 5,501
========================== ==========================
14. CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year
2025 2024
£ £
Trade creditors 14,314 24,985
Accruals 1,400 1,400
------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
15,714 26,385
========================== ==========================

Charity Number 291211

29

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

15. RESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS

Balance at Incoming Outgoing Balance at
1 Apr 2024 resources resources Transfers 31 Mar 2025
£ £ £ £ £
GAIA (3,473) – (13,627) 17,100 –
Food Bank 12,880 43,420 (51,589) – 4,711
LBH Specialist
Grant – 33,000 (33,000) – –
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- -------------------------- --------------------------------------
9,407 76,420 (65,532) 17,100 4,711
============================ ============================ =============================== =================== =========================

16. UNRESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS

Balance at Incoming Outgoing Balance at
1 Apr 2024 resources resources Transfers 31 Mar 2025
£ £ £ £ £
General Funds 303,478 430,100 (391,498) (17,100) 324,980
=============================== =============================== ==================================== ======================== ===============================

Charity Number 291211

30

Hackney City Farm Ltd - Company Limited by Guarantee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

17. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Tangible Net current
fixed assets assets Total
£ £ £
Restricted Income Funds – 4,711 4,711
Unrestricted Income Funds 26,424 298,556 324,980
---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
Total Funds 26,424 303,267 329,691
============================ ============================== ==============================

Charity Number 291211

31